


The Wonders of Studying

by MightyAmphitrite



Series: Wonderverse [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Libraries, Studying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 00:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11771280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyAmphitrite/pseuds/MightyAmphitrite
Summary: Harry and Luna meet in the library to study together after class, and Luna shows him her favorite method for remembering and understanding her lessons. Madam Pince is not a fan.Or: Only Luna could find a way to make History of Magic fun.





	The Wonders of Studying

Having been struck by a grand idea in their morning Charms lesson, Harry could hardly focus on anything but his revelation until he caught up with Luna after lunch, on her way out of the Great Hall. "Hey, would you like to go for a walk later, after class? I thought it might be fun to test the limits on the Room of Requirement."

She turned, smiled, and shook her head, her long hair swinging into passers-by.

"After Potions, I have a lot of homework. I got distracted after Herbology in the greenhouses yesterday and lost track of time, so I have a bit of catching up to do," she said with a mournful smile. After Harry had begged Hermione to write Luna a schedule, she'd done much better with managing her time, but her curiosity couldn't always be reined in (just another thing Harry loved about her). Harry set aside his disappointment and tried to think as the crowd flowed around them. Luna preferred to stop and talk if they didn't share the same destination, which many of their fellow students found exasperating and his friends found endlessly amusing. A group of Slytherins rolled their eyes as they noted the obstacle in their path and veered to the right; Harry resisted the urge to wave at them.

"Why don't I meet you after Potions and we'll go to the library? We can study together."

Her eyes lit up. "That's a wonderful idea!" She gave his hand a quick squeeze, then turned and skipped merrily down the hall, causing several first years to dive out of her way. Harry smiled at her retreating form for a while, then realized he'd forgotten where he was going. As he spun slowly in place, weighing his options, he heard a voice call out from the crowd.

"Oi! It's Defense next!"

Harry jumped at the sound and caught a flash of red hair. Ron waved him over to where he was standing with Hermione; grinning, Harry jogged over to join them.

* * *

~*~

After Defense Against the Dark Arts, having endured cold glares from Snape for his inattention and endless teasing from his friends about all of the 'studying' he'd be doing later, Harry rushed across the castle to Slughorn's classroom. He stood beside the door as the other students trickled out, waved to Ginny as she left with her friends, and wondered what could be keeping Luna. Finally, he heard Slughorn give some parting words to whoever was left inside, and moments later Luna emerged and put a hand on his shoulder by way of greeting; she was followed by a sullen boy with dark brown hair.

Harry grinned down at her. "All set, then?"

She smiled back. "Ready! Professor Slughorn had a few suggestions for our essays; we're supposed to 'keep our ideas from meandering across the parchment'."

"Meandering ideas, huh? Who's your fr- oh." Harry turned to face the boy and belatedly noticed his Slytherin robes, and the fact that he and Luna were blocking the door. The boy scowled as Harry stepped to the side for him to pass. "Sorry, go ahead."

"Good luck with your essay, Robin!" Luna said as he moved past them into the hallway. "We're going to study in the library, you're welcome to join us." She turned to Harry as the boy shrugged awkwardly. "Robin and I swap essay ideas after class sometimes, if his friends aren't around to see. They think my ideas are rather silly."

Harry regarded him coolly; Robin was currently checking the quiet hallway for witnesses to their conversation. "It's nice of you to help; Luna doesn't have many study partners."

He shrugged again, not meeting Harry's eyes. "You two should stop blocking the hallway, some of us have places to be," he said loudly as a group of third years passed by. "Later, Lovegood," he muttered as he moved away. Harry watched his retreating back thoughtfully.

"Guess I should stop judging people by the color of their robes, huh?" he said with a wry smile as they headed toward the library.

Luna smiled back. "People can surprise you sometimes; you just have to let them."

* * *

~*~

When they reached an open table back amongst the shelves, Luna surprised Harry by taking off her shoes and socks. "You don't need those for studying?" Harry asked as he pulled out his books.

"I might slip." She tucked her shoes beneath her chair and looked up expectantly. "Which subject would you like to study first?"

Harry frowned down at his notes and scratched his head. "I dunno, Transfiguration? Then I'll work on my Potions essay, I guess."

Luna nodded. "That sounds sensible. How about we warm up with History of Magic first? That's one of my favorites! I can show you my technique." And with that, she grabbed a handful of notes and clambered onto the table.

"Wait, what're you-"

"History is all about the stories of people and places in the past, and it's easier for me to remember them if I act them out. My parents and I would act out stories together before bedtime when I was little." She straightened her robes and flipped through her notes. "Let's start with Horace the Surly. Want to come up and help?"

After a quick glance around to see if Madam Pince was lurking nearby, Harry removed his own footwear and climbed up next to Luna. "What do we do now?"

She showed him her notes, which were liberally decorated with stars and swirling vines. "Horace had lots of issues with his neighbors. He apparently smuggled several trolls onto the estate of Lord Quincy Harrington after a particularly heated argument, which extended the War of the Roses by seven years." She began to stroll across the table, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Harry held on to her elbow to keep her from falling. "So we ask ourselves, what's the story here? What was his motivation?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Did he forget to keep his yard tidy? Maybe Quincy threw a big party and invited everyone but him."

"Good ideas, Harry!" Luna ducked down and grabbed her history book as Harry spun to keep both of them from toppling over. "Keep reading my notes and I'll check the book, and we'll walk through the saga together. You be Lord Quincy, I'll be Horace, and we'll take turns being the angry townspeople. Quietly, of course," she added as an afterthought. "We are in a library, after all."

What followed was the most enjoyable History of Magic lesson Harry ever hoped to have. Lord Quincy had apparently accused Horace of spying for the Tudors, and had seduced his beautiful niece in retaliation. They took turns reading and making up possible dialogue between the feuding neighbors, then moved on to her notes about a family of giants rampaging through Scotland in the 17th century. They had reached the final showdown between the giants and the brave local clan leaders when he heard a horrified gasp somewhere to his left. Harry glanced over, careful not to move too quickly and fall on their guest. Madam Pince gaped up at him, a look of bewildered fury on her face. Harry had been playing the part of the giant, and Luna was currently brandishing her umbrella at him like a sword.

"Have you taken leave of your senses?!"

Harry hopped down and turned to face her, while Luna watched them both calmly from her perch, umbrella hanging loosely at her side.

"Such behavior, and from fifth and sixth year students, at that!" she exclaimed. "I have asked you time and again, Ms. Lovegood, to use the chairs provided and stay _off_ of my tables-"

"We're very sorry Madam Pince, we-"

"We were very careful," Luna said earnestly, "I haven't fallen since first year, and we were mindful not to step on any books."

Madam Pince turned a terrifying shade of purple. " _Step on…_?"

"They're our own textbooks, not library books," Harry added hastily, holding his copy of _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6)_ like a shield. "We'll stay off the tables, I promise."

She held up a finger and pointed at each of them in turn. "I'm holding you to it. Five points from Ravenclaw, so you know I mean business." She stormed off, and they heard muffled groans from behind the nearest bookshelves. _Of_ course _the library would be full of Ravenclaws,_ Harry thought, running a hand through his hair. He let out the breath he was holding and grinned up at Luna, who gave him a bashful smile. He put his hands around her waist and swung her gently down, holding her longer than was strictly necessary, before kneeling down and grabbing his shoes.

"Well, that was fun. Think we can get through my Transfiguration notes before Pince throws us out?"

They settled into chairs and Harry pulled out his notes. As Luna dug through her bag, Harry asked, "Why get up on the table to act out your history lessons? Wouldn't it work the same standing on the floor?"

She grinned and propped her chin in her hand. "It's so much _grander_ that way," she sighed, and he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

~*~

Harry headed back to Gryffindor Tower to drop off his books before dinner, where he found his year mates gathered near the fireplace, grumbling over piles of parchment. He dumped his bag on his bed, went back down to the common room, and sank into a chair next to Ron, who was frowning at the blank space at the bottom of his Defense essay. Ron looked up and grinned, tossing his parchment onto the table and sending a stack of Dean's notes sliding to the floor. Dean cursed and made to throw a couch cushion Ron's way, but stopped at a sharp look from Hermione. Dean dropped the cushion and scowled.

"Watch yourself, Weasley. You'll start finding salamander's eyes in your shoes if I don't get good marks next lesson."

Shrugging off Dean's threats, Ron elbowed Harry and asked, "So how did 'studying' with Luna go? Did you two even make it to the library?"

Ignoring his friends' laughter, Harry dug around in his pockets for his spare deck of cards. "It went great. I learned all sorts of things, starting with why Luna doesn't get a Christmas card from Madam Pince. Who wants to play Exploding Snap?" The boys all raised their hands, Ron calling first game. Hermione sighed, and Harry could tell she was debating shoving Ron off of their couch.

"Can you at least hold off until I've finished deciphering these runes? Honestly." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you actually got all of your work done this afternoon, Harry? I thought you might find studying with her-"

"Distracting," Dean supplied, and Seamus smirked. Harry started shuffling his deck and grinned at them.

"I got half of my Transfiguration essay written, and practiced for Charms. I'll work on Snape's essay after dinner," he said with a shrug. "I even helped Luna with her History. Did you know Wizards were involved in the War of the Roses?"

Seamus gaped at him. "Blimey, he's serious." Hermione's head shot up from behind her book.

" _Yes_ , I knew that, because we learned all about it _last year_." She waved her translations at him accusingly as the others struggled to hold back their laughter. "Do you mean to tell me you don't remember a _thing_ from the last five years of lessons? You couldn't be bothered to take an interest until the year we don't even have history as a _subject?"_

Harry shrugged apologetically. "It's one of her favorites."

Ron snorted. "Of course it is. Now deal me in! Come on Hermione, you've been at it for ages. Let us play a few rounds before dinner, we'll give you at least five minutes of peace and quiet later."

She swatted his arm playfully and started putting away her notes. "Fine, but we'll work even after harder dinner!"

The others cheered and started shoving their essays and books away and standing up to stretch. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to Harry. "Why don't you share some more of your new-found knowledge with us? I'm curious to hear what Luna writes down in her notes."

Harry resumed shuffling his cards. "Well, we think Horace the Surly was surly because he didn't get enough attention as a child, and was never really invited to any parties, which is why he began to spy for the-"

"Alright, that's enough, Mr. History Scholar," Ron said, chucking his bag under the table. "If I learn one more thing today, my head will explode. Deal me in."

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't check the time of day for each of Harry's classes 6th year for perfect authenticity, but I still strive to make my stories as realistic as possible (for non-canon adventures, anyway). If you ever see a continuity error that's fixable within my canon divergence, feel free to let me know, it won't hurt my feelings ; )
> 
> Thank you all for giving my little series a chance. This is my last story of Harry and Luna together at Hogwarts; the next couple are of them as adults, handling the aftermath of Book 7 and building their lives together. If anyone has an idea for more Hogwarts stories or anything else, I would appreciate your suggestions!


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